Deco Online Overview

Deco Online chronicles the on going war between the nations of Millena and Rain. The forces of Millena excel at physical combat with weapons like swords and bows while the Rain rely on magic and spiritual forces. The two sides have slightly different tutorial zones but both are straight forward and speedily take players to levl 10 at which time they can make their first class change. There aren’t a whole lot of classes available in Deco Online and both sides share the same single race; human. The classes are:

Millena

Swordsman - The melee specialists of Deco, swordsman can chose to master either one handed weapons (Knight) or two handed weapons (Mercenary) after reaching level 30.

Archer - Archers are the ranged class of Millena and do not use combos and instead rely on powerful single shots from their bows. At level 30 Archers become Snipers.

Rain

Magician - Masters of the elements, Magicians channel the ‘Proima’ found in all life forms to cast devastating spells.

Shaman - Shamans are casters as well but can stand toe to toe with their enemies unlike Magicians though their damage potential isn’t as high.

Deco Online Screenshots

Deco Online Featured Video

Full Review

Deco Online Review

By Erhan Altay

Deco Online was originally published in 2006 by a Philippine company but shut down within a year. Joymax, the publisher of the mega hit Silkroad Online picked up the license and re-launched the game in mid May of 2008. Deco Online calls itself a ‘casual PvP MMORPG’ which seems appropriate. The game is simple, sometimes to the point of dullness. There are too few classes choices (4) and the graphic engine & gameplay can best be described as average. But Deco does have its charms so read on if the screenshots or videos interested you.

A Tale of Two Nations

Deco Online centers on the conflict between the two warring nations of Milena and Rain. Naturally, new players are asked to chose a side during character creation. Sadly, this is one of the few choices players get to make; appearance customization is limited to a few hair and face styles. Humans seem to be the single race leaving only clothing styles to differentiate the two nations, class choices are not made until reaching level 10. Until then, all players have the class title ‘Stranger.’ Each account has two character slots and since there is only a single server this may prove restrictive. After character creation, players are taken to a special tutorial zone which differs in appearance based on which nation you’ve chosen. In terms of content, both are very much alike; players are taught the basics of combat and are rewarded handsomely each step of the way.

Combo Breaker!

Gameplay in Deco is similar to most other fantasy MMORPGs, both movement and combat are done via point and click with skills and consumables assigned to a toolbar activated via the number keys. The graphics and interface are similarly standard fare; nothing impressive or remarkable there. I experienced some trouble with movement, my character would randomly speed up and slow down and on occasion it was difficult to control. I wouldn’t describe it as lag so much as poor pathing. But one thing that sets Deco apart from most games is the combo system built into combat. While attacking, players are prompted to hit certain keys which, if done properly, yield faster and more powerful attacks. This system is similar to the one in Seal Online and like in that game, not all classes benefit from it. Archers and their second job, (at level 30) Snipers, cannot use combos. Combos do force players to be a bit more involved during grinding sessions but the novelty wears off fast. Repeating the same 4 key combination 2-3 times per fight for hours on end actually makes you wish you could simply double click and watch.

Get on With It

Thankfully, most of the text in Deco Online is short and to the point. Quest descriptions are often a single sentence and NPCs cut right to the chase. Even the tutorial is brief and effective — After several kill quests in special training areas you’ll hit level 10 and be ready for the first class change. Getting up to this point takes at most 10 minutes but don’t get comfortable, the grind kicks in once you leave the tutorial area. But before that, players are given two class choices per nation. Millena players can become either swordsmen or archers while Rain members have the option to train as Magicians or Shamans. I consider this limited class selection a major fault, Deco Online is not an old game so it has no excuse for such restrictions.

Quests for Sale!

After making their first class change, players are taken to the starting city of their respective nations and are set loose to find quests and start grinding. Oddly, most of the quests in Deco must be purchased from special NPCs found scattered across hunting zones. This is an odd system and along with healing items uses up most of your collected gold. An auto loot feature is built in meaning players won’t have to manually pick up every item and gold drop, which is a feature I feel all MMORPGs should adopt. It took me longer to get from 10 to 11 than it did to get from 1 to 10, to give you an idea of the grind ahead. What’s worse, most maps are rather bland and leave players hunting the same monster for several levels on end. Its only after level 10 that you receive stat and skill points to distribute and like the classes; stats are handled in the most basic way. There are four stats; Power (damage, crit rate), Vitality (hp, defense), Stamina (max sp, magic defense) and Dexterity (hit and dodge rate.)

Guild Pet

Deco Online has an interesting twist on the typical pet system found in other MMORPGs. Individual players can raise pets which help them in combat but guilds (called frontiers) can also have a single powerful pet called a Frontier Guardian. The Frontier Guardian can only be summoned by the top 4 ranking members of a particular guild but can be fed by all members. This special pet cannot participate directly in combat like standard pets but it bestows powerful buffs on all guild members within its radius. Deco also contains other standard features such as personal shops and a list of emotes but it fails to deliver on its main selling points: PvP. The game has a small population which is a major disadvantage for any game but doubly so for a PvP oriented game. What’s the point if there’s no one to fight? Deco’s special PvP match making lobby was either empty or not functioning during my time with the game.

Final Verdict: Fair

Deco Online is a relatively new game but has a difficult time standing out from the crowd. This is a very basic game lacking content which has only found a small audience. Those interested in PvP or traditional fantasy based MMORPGs should look elsewhere, one suggestion is JoyMax’s other MMORPG — Silkroad Online.